Systems and methods for distributing remote technical support via a centralized service

ABSTRACT

The solution described herein provides an innovative use of remote services technology integrated with service personnel onsite at the point of service, such as a consumer repair outlet, to provide a pool of technical support resources to service a widely distributed resource need, such as support and repair resource needs of a chain of consumer outlets or an aggregated group of single proprietor consumer outlets. With this solution, qualified technical resources are provided from a central location to service a widely distributed retail environment. This is on-demand online remote support service is called or referred to as “support from a spigot.” The distribution method enables the delivery of higher quality, more reliable and overall lower cost services. Instead of requiring dedicated technical resources at each location, lower skilled labor may be deployed at the location to enable the remote technical support services process.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/169,706, entitled “Systems and Methods for Distributing Remote Technical Support via a Centralized Service,” filed Jul. 9, 2008, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/949,676, entitled “Systems and Methods for Distributing Remote Technical Support via a Centralized Service,” filed Jul. 13, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application is generally directed to distributing requests for remote technical support from a point of service via centralized remote support management services.

BACKGROUND

The need for services to provide support for computers and computer related technologies continues to grow. Retailers provide support in their consumer outlets and may also send technicians to the consumer's home. Retailers offer computer and technology services by placing technical resources onsite at a consumer outlet to provide service to computers that are purchased at the retailer or brought to the consumer outlet for repair. In order to provide services in a consumer outlet, there needs to be a technician available. The consumer outlet must employ a minimum set of technical resources to provide coverage for the range of days and times of the week the consumer outlet is open for service and to handle at least a moderate volume of business. In order to provide an adequate level of support, the skills of the technicians should be of sufficient breadth to address the broad scope of problems that consumers may have with their computers and technology.

To conserve costs, a retailer typically staffs a minimal number of technicians at the consumer repair outlets that may be available at each retail location. With a minimal number of technicians available to support or repair computers, many times computers cannot be repaired without an extended wait. This delay to repair time introduces customer satisfaction issues. In addition, current staffing models do not result in the most efficient use of resources. During peak seasons or time periods, the consumer repair outlet may need to double and triple staffing to meet medium or short term consume support and repair demands. As there tends to be little extra resources available to meet short notice demands, the consumer repair outlet may find it difficult to provide adequate staffing for temporary overflow or peak demand situations. The solution of the present application uses remote technical support services to reduce cost and increase quality of delivery of in-home technology services as well as at consumer outlets.

Whether the intent is to provide a single location or a large numbers of retail locations, hiring additional labor in lock step with the volume of work is expensive and challenging. Demand for support and repair work at any single consumer repair outlet may be sporadic and may not grow in the same way as adding additional resources to the labor pool. For larger retailers with multiple consumer repair outlets, onsite resources cannot be shared between outlets unless they happen to be geographically located near each other. For example, in a large retail chain that has 500 consumer outlets, the retailer needs to hire at least 500 technicians if they want to provide coverage in all consumer outlets. Even though there are at least 500 technicians working across all consumer outlets at any one times, there may only be enough aggregate support and repair work to keep only 125 technicians busy across all the consumer outlets.

Current staffing and service delivery models in the consumer outlets have inherent quality issues. Retailers find it difficult to justify the hiring of skilled managers to manage a small pool of technical resources. With less skilled technical mangers on non-technical mangers, providing adequate oversight to the quality and delivery services is difficult. It is also difficult to attract technically skilled labor to work in an environment where the work may be sporadic, covers a broad range of issues, and with inadequate oversight. As a result, the work the technical laborer is asked to perform may extend beyond his or her capability or comfort. With a small labor pool and inadequate management oversight, it is also challenging to provide a career growth path to attract the desired technically skilled labor.

Another way to provide support and repair of computers and electronics of consumers is through in-home services. In-home support services may be delivered via technical labor visiting the home to solve problems, provision of information to the home in the form of emails, online chat and phone, or remotely attaching to the devices and providing direct support. The delivery of labor to the home is immensely inefficient because of travel time and because the nature of the work is indeterminate. Resolving a problem in the home may require a short visit or a long visit, and may not be known until the technical labor is on-site. As a result, in home service providers typically schedule the availability of technicians with slack time to account for the indeterminate nature of the work as well as travel. The use of slack time to account for the nature of the work is wasteful and increases the amount of additional labor that may needed as demand increases. Not using slack time or using less slack time may decrease the availability of technicians to handle the next customer. This may result in abandoned customers, decreased response time and decrease customer satisfaction. As with the consumer repair outlet, the nature of the work in a home is also broad in technical scope as it involves many different devices and software. This makes it very difficult if not nearly impossible for a service provider to find someone who is able to address the full spectrum of work in the home. Often times follow-up visits must be scheduled to complete work which could not be resolved by the dispatched technician. This results in longer delays in resolving the issue at home decreasing the customer's satisfaction with the support experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The solution described herein provides an innovative use of remote services technology integrated with service personnel onsite at the point of service, such as a consumer repair outlet, to provide a pool of technical support resources to service a widely distributed resource need, such as support and repair resource needs of a chain of consumer outlets or an aggregated group of single proprietor consumer outlets. With this solution, qualified technical resources are provided from a central location to service a widely distributed retail environment. This is on-demand online remote support service is called or referred to as “support from a spigot.” The distribution method enables the delivery of higher quality, more reliable and overall lower cost services. Instead of requiring dedicated technical resources at each location, lower skilled labor may be deployed at the location to enable the remote technical support services process.

The pool of remote technical resources is aggregated using centralized technology. Tools for such as managed desktop sharing software with queuing software, phone automated call distribution systems (ACD) and enabling processes may used to aggregate the remote resources via a central point. Personnel in the consumer outlet enable the work via the centralized service. Once enabled, the pool of remote technical resources may deliver a broad range of services in the consumer outlet including installation of software, repair of software based problems, and general diagnostics. Because of the unique distribution model, the technical resources may work from any geographical location.

When work enters the consumer outlet, a non technical resource or technical resource evaluates the work requirement and connects the computer to the on-demand remote technical services via the Internet—the “spigot”, enters information on an electronic form and submits the form to the centralized service. The computer is assigned to or “attached” to a work queue of the central service. The queues of the central service may be fully automated to enable remote hook-up of the computer to the pool of resources or be manually attached. The centralized service will forward information on the computer to the next available technical agent in the pool of resources who is able to service the work type specified by the information on the work form. Work will then be performed on the computer per the form's information using unique computer identifiers to match up the work and computer to be serviced. The remote technical uses remote desktop sharing technology to connect to the identified computer and perform the support and repair work. When work is concluded, the consumer outlet may be notified via communications on the repaired computer, a separate work form or via phone as may be determined by the consumer outlet.

The centralized resource pool may be staffed to meet time of day demands, peak seasonal demands and even short bursts of demand at a much higher efficiency level than the traditional model. Work loads are statistically easier to forecast and staff when it is pooled at a central location. The efficiency of the centralized workforce is significantly higher because work load analysis can better predict staffing requirements and the work force will benefit from a steady stream of work. The centralized management of the pool of resources also allows for a complete service support structure to be put in place to hire, train and manage the specialized and/or technical resources. With availability of different and highly skilled resources via a centralized service, tiered escalation resources may be brought to bear on a support or repair issue without the need for travel or delay. Because of the ability to route work to specific resources and between specialized resources based upon work type, the most (or more) appropriate and lowest (or lower) cost labor may applied to address problem by category or type.

With access to an on-demand (available when needed) pool of resources, the consumer outlet may offer unique services which otherwise would be difficult for a consumer outlet to provide. On-demand or on the spot diagnostics, support and repair services become not only feasible but cost effective with repairs being offered while customers are shopping. With this on-demand remote technical support service, consumers outlets may more easily guarantee rapid turn around on repairs and service. In some cases, customers may turn on their computer in the proximity of the consumer outlet and receive customized services via the on-demand remote technical services through a wireless connection.

This “support from a spigot” service is a unique technology enabled support service model with significant benefits over the current state of the art. The benefits include a more efficient labor model. A larger pool of better skilled and better managed resources may be used to service a widely distributed service environment. The centralized pool of resource may more easily meet temporary surges in demand for services. The right skilled labor may be timely assigned to a technical problem to assure lower cost and higher quality work for each problem. With this new technology enabled support service, consumer outlets may provide new services and guarantees to their customers.

In one aspect, a method for providing on-demand technical support services from a pool of technicians remote to a plurality of points of service via a centralized service is described. The centralized service is in communication with the pool of technicians and a device at a point of service via one or more networks. The method includes receiving, by a centralized service, a request for work to be performed on a device. The device is connected to a point of service of a plurality of points of service and the centralized service operates on one or more servers in communication via one or more networks to the point of service. The method also includes the centralized service determining, for the request, a type of work and one or more service level attributes to perform the type of work at a predetermined service threshold and assigning the request to a work queue of a plurality of work queues. The assignment is based on the one or more service level attributes corresponding to one or more capabilities identified for a plurality of remote technicians.

In one embodiment, the centralized service identifies a remote technician from the plurality of remote technicians based on the one or more capabilities of the remote technician corresponding to the one or more service level attributes. In another embodiment, the identified remote technician receives a communication from the centralized service to perform work on the device. The method further includes the remote technician connecting from a remote location to the device at the point of service via one or more networks.

In one embodiment, the method includes matching each of the one or more service level attributes of the request to each of the one or more capabilities of at least one remote technician. In another embodiment, at least one of the one or more service level attributes of the request is matched to at least one of the one or more capabilities of at least one remote technician. In still another embodiment, the method includes corresponding the one or more service level attributes to the one or more capabilities based on a policy. In yet another embodiment, the centralized service identifies via each of the one or more service level attributes, one of a level of skill, a certification or a level of training to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold. In one embodiment, the centralized service identifies via each of the one or more service level attributes one of a language, location or time to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold. In another embodiment, the centralized service assigns the request to the work queue of the plurality of work queues based on the one or more service level attributes of the work request. In still another embodiment, the one or more service level attributes correspond to one or more capabilities of a remote technician associated with the work queue such as a level of skill, a level of training, certification, a language, a location and availability.

In another aspect, a system for providing on-demand technical support services from a pool of technicians remote to a device at one of a plurality of points of service includes a centralized service and a database. In one embodiment, the centralized service receives a request for work to be performed on a device at a point of service of a plurality of points of service. In another embodiment, the centralized service determines from the request, a type of work and one or more service level attributes of the type of work to perform the type of work at a predetermined service threshold. In still another embodiment, the centralized service assigns the request to a work queue of a plurality of work queues based the one or more service level attributes corresponding to the one or more capabilities identified for the plurality of remote technicians. In yet another embodiment, the database includes information identifying one or more capabilities of each of a plurality of remote technicians.

In one embodiment, the centralized service matches each of the one or more service level attributes of the request to each of the one or more capabilities of at least one remote technician. In another embodiment, the centralized service matches at least one of the one or more service level attributes of the request to at least one of the one or more capabilities of at least one remote technician. In still another embodiment, the centralized service includes an intelligent switch that corresponds the one or more service level attributes to the one or more capabilities based on a policy. In yet another embodiment, the centralized service identifies one or more capabilities of a remote technician based on a type of the device or the type of work.

In one embodiment, the centralized service identifies a level of skill, a certification or a level of training to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold via each of the one or more service level attributes. In another embodiment, the centralized service identifies a language, location or time to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold. In still another embodiment, the centralized service assigns the request to the work queue of the plurality of work queues based on the one or more service level attributes of the work request. In yet another embodiment, the one or more service level attributes correspond to one or more capabilities of a remote technician associated with the work queue such as a level of skill, a level of training, certification, a language, a location and availability.

In still another aspect, a method for receiving on-demand technical support services from a remote location includes transmitting, from a point of service to a centralized service, a request for service for a device connected from the point service. In one embodiment, the centralized service determines the request fro service to comprise a type of work and one or more service level attributes for the type of work. The method also includes receiving a connection from a remote technician of a plurality of remote technicians to service the request assigned by the centralized service to a work queue of a plurality of work queues. In one embodiment, the centralized service assigns the request to the work queue based on one or more capabilities identified for the plurality of remote technicians corresponding to the one or more service level attributes to perform the type of work at a predetermined service level threshold. The method further includes receiving, from the centralized service, information indicating a status of service performed on the device by the remote technician.

In one embodiment, the remote technician performing service on the device is identified by the centralized service from the plurality of remote technicians based one the one or more capabilities of the remote technician corresponding to the one or more service level attributes of the request. In another embodiment, the remote technician performing service on the device is identified by the centralized service from the plurality of technician by identifying one or more service level attributes of the request. In still another embodiment, the one or more service level attributes include a level of skill, a certification, a level of training, a language, a location or time to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent and better understood by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an environment to provide remote technical support to a device via a centralized service;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of allocating a service request to a remote technician by a centralized service;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a point of service;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting steps of an embodiment of a method to allocate a service request to a remote technician via a centralized service; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting steps of an embodiment of a method for providing support services to a device by a remote technician via a centralized service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an environment 100 to provide remote technical support to a device via a centralized service is shown and described. In brief overview, the system includes one or more consumer outlets 103 a, 103 b (103 in general) of a retailer 102 connected via a network 104 to a centralized service 110. In one embodiment, the centralized service 110 provides an interface to the consumer outlet 103 via an intelligent switch 106 that provides connectivity, work flow and queue management, and service process management for a remote technician from a pool of remote technicians 115 a-115 c (115 in general) to perform work on a device 101 at the consumer outlet 103. In another embodiment, an outlet 103 includes a point of service 105 to which a device 101 requiring service is connected. In still another embodiment, a request for service from the device 101 is transmitted to the centralized service 110 via the point of service 105 and a network 104 a. In yet another embodiment, the centralized service 110 includes one or more queues 108 a-108 n (108 in general) where the request from the device 101 is stored. In a further embodiment, a remote technician 115 a picks up a request from a queue 108 a by connecting to the centralized service 110 over a network 104 d. In one embodiment, the remote technician 115 a connects to the device 101 a over a network 104 b to provide remote technical service to the device 101 a.

The above-depicted system is an example embodiment of an environment for deploying the on-demand service referred to as “support from spigot.” The centralized service 110 include remote technical support services to allow one or more remote technicians 115 a-115 c to perform any type and form of support, service and repair on a device 101 connected via a network 104 a, such as the Internet at the consumer outlet 103. The consumer outlet 103 may have a workbench providing connectivity and access to the Internet Switch and the centralized service 110 via an Internet Interface.

The device 101 may comprise any type and form of electronic device. In one embodiment, a device 101 is any type of computing device such as a desktop computer or a laptop computer. In another embodiment, the device 101 is an electronic equipment capable of connecting to a network. In still another embodiment, the device 101 is any type and form of communications device. In yet another embodiment, the device 101 is a cellular phone. In one embodiment, the 101 is a BLACKBERRY device manufactured by Research in Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In another embodiment, the device 101 is a personal digital assistant (PDA) phone or smartphone such as one manufactured by Palm Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. In still another embodiment, the device 101 is an IPHONE manufactured by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. In further embodiments, the device 101 can be a digital camera, a video cassette recorder (VCR), a digital video recorder (DVR) such as one manufactured by TiVo Inc. of Alviso, Calif., a printer, a telephone, a digital music player or any other electronic gadget and equipment as apparent to one skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the device 101 may include a network interface to interface to a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN) or the Internet through a variety of connections including, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of the above. The network interface may comprise a built-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card, card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem or any other device suitable for interfacing the device 101 to any type of network capable of communication and performing the operations described herein.

The device 101 may include any type and form of operating system, which control scheduling of tasks and access to system resources. In some embodiments, the device 101 can be running any operating system such as any of the versions of the Microsoft® Windows operating systems, the different releases of the Unix and Linux operating systems, any version of the Mac OS® for Macintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-time operating system, any open source operating system, any proprietary operating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, or any other operating system capable of running on the computing device and performing the operations described herein. Typical operating systems include: WINDOWS 3.x, WINDOWS 95, WINDOWS 98, WINDOWS 2000, WINDOWS NT 3.51, WINDOWS NT 4.0, WINDOWS CE, and WINDOWS XP, all of which are manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; MacOS, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif.; OS/2, manufactured by International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y.; and Linux, a freely-available operating system distributed by Caldera Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah, or any type and/or form of a Unix operating system, among others.

In one embodiment, the centralized service 110 is executed from a server or any other computing device. The server may be referred to as a file server, application server, web server, proxy server, or gateway server. In some embodiments, the server may have the capacity to function as either an application server or as a master application server. In one embodiment, the system 100 may include multiple, logically-grouped servers. In these embodiments, the logical group of servers may be referred to as a server farm. In some of these embodiments, the servers of the farm may be geographically dispersed. In some cases, a farm may be administered as a single entity. In other embodiments, the server farm comprises a plurality of server farms. In one embodiment, the server and/or server farm executes one or more applications on behalf of the centralized service 110. The servers within each farm can be heterogeneous. One or more of the servers can operate according to one type of operating system platform (e.g., WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.), while one or more of the other servers can operate on according to another type of operating system platform (e.g., Unix or Linux). The group of servers logically grouped as a farm may be interconnected using a wide-area network (WAN) connection or metropolitan area network (MAN) connection. Data transmission speeds between servers in the farm 38 can be increased if the servers are connected using a local-area network (LAN) connection or some form of direct connection.

In further overview of FIG. 1, the consumer outlet 103 may receive a device 101 from a customer at a point of service 105, such as at a support desk or area at a retailer. For example, a store associate may receive a computer device from a customer requesting support, service or repair on the computer. The store associate may connect the computer at a point of service 105 to access the centralized service 110. In one embodiment, the point of service 105 includes an Internet Interface 116 (not shown). In another embodiment, the store associate may, via the Internet Interface 116, set up and configure the type of problem to be solved or the type of service to be performed via the centralized service 110. For example, the store associate may enter information on a work order form, such as via one or more web pages, and submit the form to the Internet Switch via the Internet Interface 116. In one embodiment, the information may identify the computer attached at the workbench. In another embodiment, the Internet Switch 106 receives the form and information and places the device 101 and/or work to be performed on the device 101 in a queue 108. In still another embodiment, the queue 108 may be organized and arranged in any manner including by type or category of device, type or category of service, nature of the problem, and/or location or name of consumer outlet 103. In yet another embodiment, the Internet Switch 106 includes scheduling and dispatching logic/software to dispatch the work order to the next available remote technician 115.

In one embodiment, the Internet Switch 106 may select the next remote technician using any type and form of decision criteria and/or load balancing scheme. In some embodiments, the Internet Switch 106 selects the next remote technician who is suited to perform the type of service, support or repair requested on the device 101. In one embodiment, the switch 106 determines from the request from the device 101, a type of work and one or more service level attributes required to perform the type of work at a predetermined service threshold. The service level attributes and the predetermined service threshold are discussed in further details with reference to FIG. 2.

In one embodiment, the selected remote technician 115 a receives a prompt, a communication or any type and form of notice to perform work on the device 101 attached at the consumer outlet. The information from the submitted form and in the queue of the Internet Switch may identify the device 101, such as by Internet Protocol, Machine Access Control (MAC) address or by any other identifiers uniquely identifying the device 101. In another embodiment, the remote technician 115 a connects to the identified device 101 a attached at the workbench using any desktop sharing and remote connectivity and support technology, such as via the GoToAssist technology manufactured by Citrix Online, LLC of Santa Barbara, Calif., part of Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In still another embodiment, the remote technician 115 a performs any type of hardware and software diagnostic, installation, repair, and/or configuration. In yet another embodiment, when the service is completed, the remote technician 115 a may provide an electronic report on the device 101 a indicating that service has been completed, any diagnostic information and the type of services performed and any results thereof.

Although FIG. 1 shows a plurality of networks including network 104 a between the consumer outlet 103 and the centralized service 110 and networks 104 d-104 f between the centralized service 110 and the remote technicians 115, any or all of the outlet 103, the centralized service 110 and remote technicians 115 may be on the same network 104. In one embodiment, any of the networks 104 may be the same type of network or different types of networks. The network 104 can be a local-area network (LAN), such as a company Intranet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), or a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet or the World Wide Web. The network(s) 104 may be a private or public network. In one embodiment, the network of the consumer outlet may be a private network and network of the Internet Switch or centralized services may be a public network, or vice versa. In another embodiment, the network of the centralized services and the network of the consumer outlet may be private networks. In still another embodiment any network 104 may include one or more networks of different kinds as apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

In one embodiment, the network 104 may be any type and/or form of network and may include any of the following: a point to point network, a broadcast network, a wide area network, a local area network, a telecommunications network, a data communication network, a computer network, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network, a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) network, a SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) network, a wireless network and a wireline network. In some embodiments, the network may comprise a wireless link, such as an infrared channel or satellite band. In another embodiment, the topology of the network may be a bus, star, or ring network topology. In other embodiments, the network and network topology may be of any such network or network topology as known to those ordinarily skilled in the art capable of supporting the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the centralized service 110 may connect to the consumer outlet 105 or a device at the point of service 105 using any type and form of protocol, such as any internet protocols for communications. Examples of such protocols include but are not limited to application layer protocols such as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), transport layer protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), network layer protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), datalink layer protocols such as IEEE 802.11, Token Ring and Ethernet and physical layer protocols such as RS-232 and Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET). In some embodiments, secure communications between the remote technician 115 and the centralized service 110 are established via encryption, for example via a secure socket layer (SSL) or a virtual private network (VPN). In other embodiments, secure communications between the remote technician 115 and the device 101 at the consumer outlet 103 are established via encryption, for example via a secure socket layer (SSL) or a virtual private network (VPN). In yet another embodiment, end to end security is established via the remote technician 115 and the device 101 at the consumer outlet 103. With secured communications, the privacy of the data on a device 101 may be protected and/or maintained. Because of the ubiquity of networks, network connectivity and the internet the systems and methods of the system described herein is available in just about any possible customer scenario as apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a centralized service for allocating a service request to a remote technician is shown and depicted. In one embodiment, the centralized service receives a request for work 201. a work type 202 is determined from the work request 201 to identify one or more service level attributes 205 required to service the work request 201. In another embodiment, the centralized service communicates with a technician database 215 to determine capabilities 210 of technicians available to service the work request. In still another embodiment, an intelligent switch 106 routes the incoming work request 201 to a queue 108 a of a plurality of queues 108 a-108 n (108 in general). In yet another embodiment, the intelligent switch 106 matches the service level attributes 205 of the work request 201 with the capabilities 210 of the remote technicians 115 to determine a remote technician 115 a suited to service the work request 201 at a predetermined service level 222. In one embodiment, the intelligent switch 106 includes a policy engine 224 that communicates with a set of rules 226 to perform the matching. In a further embodiment a queue manager 230 manages allocation and moving of requests between the plurality of queues 108.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 comprises any type and form of mechanism and interface for connecting, dispatching, identifying and managing the flow of work from a consumer outlet 103 to a remote technician 115. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may comprise software, hardware or any combination of software and hardware. In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 includes dispatching and/or scheduling logic, functions and operations to identify and select the most appropriate technician and then pass the connection to the computer so the service may be performed. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may have information on which technicians 115 are logged in and currently available and the skill sets, capabilities 210 and/or knowledge that they have and type of work or service they may perform. In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 tracks real-time which technicians are available and which technicians are currently performing a service, and for which consumer outlet 103 and/or device 101. In still another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 has, obtains or maintains profiles for each of the remote technicians 115. A profile identifies the technician's technical capabilities, certifications, types of service or work authorized or assigned to perform, and/or performance information and statistics for past service work. In one embodiment, the technician profiles are stored in a technician database 215 in communication with the centralized service 110.

A work type 202 comprises any type and form of information, data or identification of the work to be performed in response to the work request 201. In one embodiment, a work type 202 is identified from the incoming work request 201. In another embodiment, the work type identification includes identifying one or more service level attributes 205 from the work request 201. In still another embodiment, the service level attributes 205 include but are not limited to one or more of the following: a level of skill, a certification or a level of training to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold. In another embodiment, the service level attributes 205 include but are not limited to a language, location or time to perform the type of work on the device at the predetermined service threshold. In yet another embodiment, a service level attribute 205 may include one or more sub-attributes derived from one or more service level attributes 205. In a further embodiment, a service level attribute may be a function of one or more service level attributes 205. In one embodiment one or more service level attributes 205 of a work type 202 may be determined using any algorithm or qualitative and/or quantitative analysis on the work request 201. In another embodiment, the service level attributes are explicitly specified in the work request 201. In still another embodiment, the service level attributes 205 are encoded in the work request 201.

In one embodiment the technician database 215 stores the profiles of one or more remote technician 115. The technician database 215, generally also referred to as data source, may comprise any type and form of data. In one embodiment, the technician database 215 comprises any type and form of relational database, non-relational database, object database, or object-oriented database. In some embodiments, the technician database 215 comprises any of the database products manufactured by Oracle of Redwood Shores, Calif. In another example, the technician database 215 comprises any of the versions of Microsoft SQL Server manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. In one embodiment, the technician database 215 provides an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) interface for accessing the database. In another embodiment, the technician database 215 comprises a server farm of databases. In some embodiments, the technician database 215 comprises a database cluster.

In other embodiments, the technician database 215 comprises a file, such as a CSV (command separated) formatted file. In another embodiment, the technician database 215 comprises a file having fields or values delimited in any manner by using fixed length field or any predetermined field or value delimiters. The file may have a structure, format, and/or content readable and understandable by the centralized service 110, or any portion thereof. In other embodiments, the technician database 215 includes an application, program, software, service, process or task providing access to data. The technician database 215 may provide any type and form of application programming interface (API), such as an XML, object, or web-service based interface for accessing or providing data.

A capability 210 of a remote technician 115 comprises any type and form of information, data and identification related to one or more of a background, skill level, knowledge, training, experience, certification and any other attribute of the technician 115. In one embodiment the technician profiles identify the capabilities 210 of each of the one or more remote technicians 115. In another embodiment, the capabilities 210 of a remote technician may include but are not limited to one or more of the following: skill set, language spoken, certifications, training received, availability and any other attribute as apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art. In yet another embodiment, a capability 210 of a remote technician 115 may be a function of one or more capabilities 210. In one embodiment, the capabilities 210 of a remote technician 115 may include an attribute derived from a performance history of the technician 115. In another embodiment, the capabilities 210 of a remote technician 115 may be classified according to one or more different attributes such as work type, customer type, interaction with a specific customer and any other attribute.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 matches the service level attributes 205 with the capabilities 210 of the technicians 115. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch communicates with the technician database 215 to identify the capabilities 210 of one or more remote technicians 115. In still another embodiment the service level attributes 205 are matched to capabilities 210 by the Intelligent Switch 106 based on an algorithm. In yet another embodiment, each of the service level attributes 205 and/or the capabilities are assigned weights by the centralized service 110 in communication with the policy engine 224. In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 executes a learning algorithm to match the service level attributes 205 to the capabilities 210. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 uses any algorithm, software, hardware or a combination thereof to match the service level attributes 205 to the capabilities 210. In still another embodiment, the service level attributes 205 and the capabilities 210 are matched to determine a technician 115 substantially suited to service a work request 201.

In some embodiments, the service level attribute of a level of skill may be matched to a skill level of a remote technician 115. In one of these embodiments, a skill may represent a general area of expertise such as hardware, software or networks. In another of these embodiments, a skill may represent more focused expertise in any hardware related area such as motherboards, graphics cards, monitors or network cards. In still another of these embodiments, a skill may represent a focused expertise in a software related area such as databases, anti-virus software, firewalls and operating systems.

In other embodiments, the service level attribute of language may be matched to a corresponding language capability of a remote technician 115. In one embodiment, a language may represent a spoken and/or written language such as English, Chinese, Spanish or Hindi. In another embodiment, a language may be a computer language such as C, C++, Java, HTML or Pascal. In still another embodiment, a language may be any form of communication between two individuals such as sign language.

In still other embodiments, service level attributes such as certification and/or level of training are matched to corresponding capabilities of the remote technicians 115. In one embodiment, a certification may be from an organization or a company such as Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certifications from Cisco Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif. or Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) and Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certifications from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. In other embodiments, a certification may be one or more of an authorization, an endorsement, a promotion, a validation and an authentication from any company, organization, institution or individual as apparent to one skilled in the art. In one embodiment, a training may be a formal education received in an area of concentration. In another embodiment, a training may represent hands on experience in a related field. In still other embodiments, a training may represent means for developing a skill and/or expertise in one or more areas.

In yet other embodiments, a service level attribute of time is matched to a corresponding capability of a remote technician 115. In one embodiment, time may be a service level attribute such as the time the work request is received at the centralized service 110. In another embodiment, a time may represent a capability of a remote technician 115 such as a window of availability. In other embodiments, a time may represent one or more of service level attributes and/or capabilities such as maximum/minimum turn-around time, maximum/minimum waiting time and any other related time as apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 determines the technician suitable to service a work request 201 to meet a predetermined service threshold 222. A predetermined service threshold is any type and form of a metric used to identify one or more qualitative and/or quantitative aspect related to performing a service, such as any measurable element of the service. In one embodiment, the predetermined service threshold is a quantitative metric such as turnaround time. In another embodiment, the service threshold is a qualitative metric such as customer satisfaction. In yet another embodiment, the service threshold 222 is considered as a service level attribute 205 in determining a technician to service a work request 201. In one embodiment, the service threshold 222 may be specified as a part of the work request 201. In another embodiment, a technician 115 is selected by the Intelligent Switch 106 to optimize the probability of meeting the service threshold 222.

In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 includes a policy engine 224. In another embodiment, the policy engine 224 is driven by a set of rules 226. In one embodiment, the policy engine 224 may include, for example, an intelligent statistical engine or other programmable application(s). In another embodiment, the policy engine 224 provides a configuration mechanism to allow a user to identifying, specify, define or configure a matching policy. The policy engine 224, in some embodiments, also has access to memory to support data structures such as lookup tables or hash tables to enable user-selected matching policies. In other embodiments, the policy engine 224 may comprise a set of rules 226 including any logic, rules, functions or operations to determine and provide access, control and management of service level attributes 205 and capabilities 210 being matched by the intelligent switch 106.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 includes the Citrix Online GoToAssist support portal. In other embodiments, the Intelligent Switch may include any online support systems from WebEx Communications, LogMeIn or Microsoft. In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 includes software, functions or logic that call an application programming interface (API) to the support portal and software system to perform desired functionality and operations described herein. In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 is designed and constructed to forward work to specific agents or technical resources or pools of agents/technical resources based upon information received via the Internet Interface, such as answers to questions on a web form.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may include any type and form of logic, functions or executable instructions to organize support and/or work request into queues 108 and to dispatch or schedule such request to technicians 115. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may identify, arrange or organize queues 108 a-108 n (108 in general) in any manner, scheme or into any type and form of categories. In some embodiments, the queues 108 may be organized by consumer outlet or locations thereof. In other embodiments, the queues 108 may be organized by groups of consumer outlets 103, such as for a retail chain. In another embodiment, the queues 108 may be organized by the type of service requested and/or the nature of the problem. For example, queues 108 may be organized for application installation services, checkup and virus scan services or software or operating system upgrades. In still other embodiments, the queues 108 may be organized by the type or category of software, application or operating system. In another embodiment, the queues 108 may be organized by type of device, such as computing, MP3, printer, etc. In further embodiments, the queues may be organized by the manufacturer or brand of the device. In one embodiment, the queues 108 may be organized or arranged by groups of one or more technicians 115. In another embodiment, the queues may be arranged by geographic locations of one or more technicians.

The scheduling and/or dispatching functionality of the Intelligent Switch 106 uses any type and form of logic, algorithm or scheme to match work from a queue to a suitable technician. In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch determines the next available remote technician 115 to give the work from a queue 108 a or any of the queues 108. In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 characterizes the work type 202 based on one or more service level attributes 205 that are required or desired to perform the work 201. In another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 has knowledge of capabilities 210 of the remote technicians 115, such as from profiles stored in the technician database 215. In still another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 determines and selects a technician 115 a suited to service the work request by matching the service level attributes 205 to the capabilities 210 of the technicians. In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 selects a technician 115 a best suited to service the work request. Upon this determination, in one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 delivers or informs the matched or selected technician 115 a of the item he or she should work on next. If work type 202 is not known then the Intelligent Switch 106 may assign the queued work to a technical resource that is capable of diagnosing problem for later redirect to the most appropriate technician. For example, after diagnosing the problem, the technical resource may resubmit the work to the Intelligent Switch 106 to be assigned to a technical resource. The diagnosing technical resource may assign the work to the appropriate queue 108 or provide information from the diagnostics for the Intelligent Switch 106 to assign the work to the appropriate queue 108 or technical resource.

The Intelligent Switch 106 uses any rules and/or algorithm to select a technician suited to service a work request. In one embodiment, the service level attributes 205 and/or the capabilities may be ordered based on a priority of requirement. In another embodiment, each attribute 205 and/or capability 210 is assigned a weight prior to the selection. In still another embodiment, one or more of the attributes 205 and/or the capabilities 210 may be marked as essential. In such an embodiment, if a suited technician satisfying the essential capability is not available, the work request 201 is put on hold till a suited technician becomes available. In one embodiment, if the Intelligent Switch 106 cannot select a suited technician 115, a communication is sent out to all available technicians 115 to query if any technician is capable of servicing the work request 201. In one embodiment, one service level attribute is matched to a corresponding capability to select a remote technician. In another attribute, a plurality of service level attributes are matched to a plurality of corresponding capabilities to select a remote technician. In some embodiments, a multi-level process is employed to select a remote technician. In one of these embodiments, in one level, one or more remote technicians are selected as a first group based on matching one or more high priority attributes to one or more corresponding capabilities. In another of these embodiments, in another level, one or more remote technicians are selected from the first group based on matching one or more lower priority attributes to one or more corresponding capabilities.

In one embodiment, the remote technical support system technician resources are aggregated by the Intelligent Switch 106 into pools of labor which are used to resolve the issues aggregated from the customer outlets 103. Because the technical resources deliver their services remotely through networks, such as the Internet they can be located in call centers or in a distributed work environment such as a home. As long as the technical resource has access to the network or the Internet they can provide services for customers.

In one embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may include any type and form of logic, function, operations or executable instructions to perform load balancing between one or more queues 108 and the remote technicians 115. For example, the Intelligent Switch 106 may load balance queues 108 based on the type of work and the capabilities 210 of available technicians. In some cases, technicians may have multiple skills sets that may be used to work on request in multiple queues. The Intelligent Switch 106 may load balance service requests or the queues to meet the predetermined service threshold 222 or metrics for a consumer outlet 103. The Intelligent Switch 106 may load balance the queues according to priority levels assigned at a consumer outlet 103. In other embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 may load balance queues 108 across a retailer's chain of consumer outlets 103. In yet another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may load balance queues based on geographic locations, such as for a region of consumer outlets 103. In a further embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 may use performance and timing metrics of work performed to load balance to remote technicians 115 based on average support resolution times based on queue type or historical time of the technician 115.

In some embodiments, the remote technical support services provided via the Intelligent Switch 106 may include any type and form of remote technical or online services, such as PlumChoice Online PC services of Billerica, Mass., FireDog services provided by CircuitCity Stores, Inc., YourTechOnline by YourTechnOnline.com, Inc. of Kelowna, BC, Canada, and tech24 at tech24.com.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of an example of a point of service 105 is shown and described. In one embodiment, the point of service 105 includes the internet interface 116 to communicate with the centralized service 110 over one or more networks 104. In another embodiment, devices 101 a-101 c (101 in general) are connected to the Internet Interface 116 to access the centralized service 110. In still another embodiment, a consumer 301 brings a device 101 to be serviced to the point of service 105. In yet another embodiment, a store associate 305 communicates with the consumer 301 and connects the device 101 to the Internet Interface 116. In a further embodiment, a device 101 can be connected to the Internet Interface 116 by the consumer 301 directly without the intervention of a store associate 305.

In one embodiment, an agent 307 executes on the device 101 to communicate with the centralized service 110. In another embodiment, the agent 307 transmits the service request to the centralized service via the Internet Interface 116. In still another embodiment, the agent 307 is installed in the device 101 at the point of service 105. In one embodiment, the agent 307 is downloaded automatically on the device 101 from the centralized service 110 when the device 101 is connected to the centralized service 110. In another embodiment, the agent 307 is manually downloaded and installed by the store associate 305. In yet another embodiment, the agent 307 runs a diagnostic test on the device 101 and transmits the results to the centralized service 110 via the Internet Interface 116. In a further embodiment, the agent 307 presents a form and/or a questionnaire to be filled by the consumer 301 and/or the associate 305. In one embodiment, the agent 307 establishes a secure connection with the centralized service 110.

In one embodiment, the on-demand remote technical services provided via the centralized service 110 and Internet Switch 106 is designed and constructed to allow a lower skilled, non-technical store associate 305 to provide access to remote skilled technicians 115 to diagnose and fix technical problems or perform routine system support functions such as software installation and computer configuration. In another embodiment, the Internet Switch 106 provides a simple easy to use interface that allows the associate to connect the computer to the Intelligent Switch 106 through a network 104 a. In still another embodiment, the Intelligent Switch 106 directs the work to the next available technical resource which has the skill set or capability to address the work type required to be performed on the computer. In yet another embodiment, technicians provide support directly on the device 101 at the remote location using desktop sharing software combined with tools which allows typical interaction with the remote system.

The Internet Interface 116 comprises any type and form of interface to provide access to the device 101 via one or more networks 104. In one embodiment, the Internet Interface 116 may include software or hardware, or any combination of software and hardware. In some embodiments, the store associate configures the device 101 to connect to the point of service 105 of the consumer outlet 103. In other embodiments, the Internet Interface 116 is designed and constructed to allow the device 101 to be automatically connected to the point of service 105 and/or the centralized service 110. For example, access may be simplified to the point that a store associate connects a mouse, keyboard, network connection, and power for the device 101 and the remote technician 115/resource will automatically access the device 101 when the resource is available. Any type and form of remote connectivity, control and boot device may be used at the point of service 105 and for the Internet Interface to provide automatic remote control, such as any such commercial device manufactured by Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.

In one embodiment, the Internet Interface 116 also may comprise any type and form of interface to access the functionality of the Internet Switch 106 and the centralized service 110. In another embodiment, the Internet Interface 116 may comprise any type and form of user interface, such as a graphical user interface, to provide information to convey to the remote technical resource to identify or characterize the nature of the work or tasked that is expected to be performed on the computer. In still another embodiment, the Internet Interface may include any type and form of web form and application programming interface (API) calls. In one embodiment, the Internet Interface 116 may include a questionnaire, a series of forms or a wizard to prompt for information to identify the type of service and the device in a manner desired or suitable by the Internet Switch 106, centralized service 110, and/or remote technician 115. The Internet Interface 116 may also include an interface to any type and form of call distribution software based upon work type. In some embodiments, the information and/or Internet Interface may be provided via any type and form of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. In yet another embodiment, the information may also identify which machine or device needs repair or service or is otherwise associated with the information submission via the Internet Interface. For example, the information provided may include a unique identifiable machine code such as an Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet or Machine Access Control (MAC) address or a host name.

In some embodiments, points of service 105 at consumer outlets 103 providing technical support may provide a person who has the technical skills and/or knowledge to perform some of the repairs requested by customers. However, in some cases, it may be difficult to find a store associate 305 who has the full range of skills to address the majority of problems that may they may face. With the systems and methods described herein, a lower skilled store associate 305 may easily hook up the device 101 to the Internet Interface 116 and communicate work requirements to the Intelligent Switch 106. In one embodiment, the store associate may be replaced by a web based wizard to support a customer who wants to access services through a wireless hotspot or directly via a kiosk or a workbench at the point of service 105. In some cases, the remote technical resource may communicate directly with a customer after a device 101 has been hooked up to engage directly with the customer and diagnose the technical issue.

In some embodiments, if the store associate 305 has suitable skills, then the store associate 305 may manually assign the device 101 and work to an appropriate or design technical resource queue 108 to perform the service using a login and registration process. The Citrix GoToAssist client and management capability is an example of a desktop sharing application and platform for delivery of this type of interface. The Internet Interface and/or Internet Switch may include the GoToAssist support portal. Via the Internet Interface, the store associate may enter information in a form and submit a support item to a work queue 108.

In one embodiment, the consumer outlet 103 may include any type, form and location providing a point of service 105 at which service may be requested or accessed. In another embodiment, customers may be aggregated by a number of different venues. Some of these venues are consumer electronic stores or chains. Examples of these would be Circuit City and Frys Electronics. In other embodiments, other consumer outlet or venues may be non technical locations which have local access to consumers such as local cleaning stores, convenience stores, drug stores, etc. In one embodiment, the remote technical services described herein may be used to provide support for depot locations where devices are sent to be serviced at a central location. Original equipment manufactures (OEMS) such as Dell and HP use depots as do retailers such as Best Buy. In addition, other consumer outlets may be used such as any location where customers may access these services without having to set foot into a store location, such as any where wireless hotspots or internet connections are available. Examples of these could be commercial hotspots in airports, coffee shops or even access points from the parking lot of the above retail or consumer depot locations.

Customers may have a diverse set of devices and resource needs which request, are in need of service or may be serviced. The systems and methods described herein may be used to support, diagnose, repair or service any type and form of device and/or software. When new electronic devices are purchased, such as computers, they often require software (such as security software or office applications) to be installed. Older computers have a majority of issues which relate to the software rather than hardware. As a result, the majority of issues customers have with their computers relate to the software for example: viruses, spyware, performance problems, drivers, configuration, versions, etc. All of these problems may be fixed using the remote technical support system described herein. By the same approach, any device which connects to a network or computer such as printers, cameras, scanners, MP3 devices, telecommunication devices (cell phones), back-up storage and/or any other peripheral computing and/or network device may all be supported via centralized remote technical support services. For these devices, software installation and repair may be performed as well as training on the use of the devices, such as direct one on one training between the consumer and the technician, using the remote technical support system.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram depicting steps of an embodiment of a method for allocating a service request to a remote technician is shown and described. In brief overview, the method includes identifying (step 410) a device located at and connected from a point of service 105. The method further includes receiving (step 420) a request for service to be performed on the device 101 from the point of service 105 and determining (step 430) a type of work to be performed based on the service request. The centralized service 110 assigns (step 440) the device 101 to a queue and identifies (step 450) a remote technician to perform work on the queue. The method also includes transmitting (step 460) a communication to the identified technician to perform work on the device 101. In one embodiment, the centralized service 110 repeats one or more of the above mentioned steps to service (step 470) another work request.

In one embodiment, identifying (step 410) a device 101 connected at a point of service 105 includes verifying if the device 101 is authorized to receive service from a remote technician 115. In another embodiment, the identifying also includes determining if the device 101 is equipped with required resources to receive remote service. In still another embodiment, the connectivity and location of the device is identified by the centralized service 110. In further embodiments, the identifying includes but is not limited to determining the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the device 101, a type of device, a presence of a firewall, applications executing on the device and an operating system of the device 101.

A request for service to be performed on the device 101 is received (step 420) at the centralized service 110 and a type of work 202 to be performed is determined (step 430). In one embodiment, the centralized service 110 determined the type of work 202 based on one or more service level attributes 205 of the work request 201. In another embodiment, the determination may be performed in one of a plurality of possible ways as described with reference to FIG. 2. As an example, the centralized service 110 may determine, based on the work request 201 that the work type 202 is related to troubleshooting ADOBE PHOTOSHOP on the device 101 and the user of the device 101 prefers to be communicated with in Chinese. As another example, the centralized service 110 may determine that the work type 202 is related to connection issues that requires a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) technician to resolve.

In one embodiment, the centralized service 110 assigns (step 440) the work request 201 from the device 101 to a queue and identifies (step 450) a remote technician 115 to perform work on the queue. In another embodiment, the centralized service may identify the remote technician 115 based on the work request 201 and assign the request to a queue for the remote technician. In one embodiment, the assignment to the queue is carried out in communication with a queue manager 230. In another embodiment, the queue manager may reassign the work request from one queue 108 a to another queue 108 b based on issues such as load balancing. Assignment to queues and identifying remote technicians are described with reference to FIG. 2. As an example, the queue manager 230 may detect that a technician 115 b is experiencing connectivity issues and transfer work requests in the queue 108 b of the technician 115 b to the queue 108 c of technician 115 c who is suited to handle the work requests. In another example, the queue manager 230 may assign one request from the queue 108 b to the queue 108 c and assign another request from the queue 108 b to the queue 108 a.

The centralized service 110 transmits (step 460) a communication to the identified technician to perform work on the device 101. In one embodiment, the communication includes details on the work type 202 and/or one or more service level attributes 205. In another embodiment, the communication may include any instructions, notes and requests as apparent to one skilled in the art. In still another embodiment, more requests are serviced (step 470) by the centralized service. In one embodiment, the centralized service performs one or more of the steps 410-460 when servicing another work request. In one embodiment, if the work request is from the same device 101 a, one or more steps beginning from step 420 are performed. In another embodiment, if the work request is from another device 101 b, one or more steps beginning from step 410 are performed.

In some embodiments, the processes for providing the services involve preparation on the part of the store associate 305. In other embodiments, similar steps can be taken by the consumer 301 by interacting directly with a wizard or web form or any other type of user interface.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an example embodiment of an end-to-end method for using the techniques described herein are shown and described. In brief overview of steps of the embodiment of the above method, a customer visits a point of service 105 and brings (step 510) any device 101 for support or service by the consumer outlet 103. The store associate greets the customer and discusses the nature of the problem or the service requesting or desired to be performed for the customer. Based on the capabilities, skills and/or training of the store associate, the store associate determines or qualifies (step 520) the type of service or work to be performed. In one embodiment, the store associate or a technician onsite at the consumer outlet may determine (step 530) the problem is hardware related or requires a hardware repair. In this case, the store associate may send (step 540 a) the device 101 or a part of the device 101 for repair or service to a hardware repair service or depot. In another embodiment, the store associate or an onsite technician determines diagnostics needs to be performed, or additional work needs to be performed to qualify the problem. In other embodiments, the store associate identifies the type of service or work to be performed on the device. The store associate or another resource at the consumer outlet may connect (step 540 b) the device 101 to the internet interface 116 via the point of service 105. In some embodiments, the device 101 may be connected to an appliance or device designed and constructed to automatically allow remote access connectivity via the network from the Internet Interface 116 and/or Interface Switch. The store associate may enter information on the device, the service to be performed or the nature of the problem via a user interface. This information is submitted to the Internet Switch 106 via the Internet Interface. In some cases, this information or a portion thereof is updated or manually entered in a CRM system.

The submitted service or work request is assigned to a queue for a pool of resource. The Intelligent Switch determines (step 550) the work type from the submitted information and assigns the work to an appropriate pool of resources, or queue 108. The Intelligent Switch 106 of the centralized service 110 determines (step 560) a remote technician 115 is available to perform the work type for the queue and contacts (step 570) the remote technician 115 with instructions to service the queue 108. A connection is established (step 580) between the remote technician 115 and the device 101. The technician 115 services (step 590) the device 101, or attempts to service the requested device in communication with the centralized service 110. In one embodiment, the device 101 is serviced by the remote technician 115 using remote support system software such as GoToAssist manufactured by Citrix Online, LLC of Santa Barbara, Calif., part of Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In one embodiment, the remote technician 115 may log information into the CRM system regarding the service performed and the results thereof. In some embodiments, the remote technician 115 provides information on the device 101 regarding the service performed and the results thereof.

The remote technician 115 disconnects (step 595) from the device 101. The Intelligent Switch 106 or the remote technician 115 provides any type and form of notice or communication to the store associate 305 regarding status of the service, such as notice the work has been completed. The Store Associate interfaces with the customer, bills the customer and closes the service ticket or request.

The following depicts an example of an embodiment of steps of a method performed by the store associate in using the techniques described herein:

In some embodiments, the store associate determines (step 520) if the device 101 can be repaired remotely or if a diagnostic is required to determine if it can be repaired remotely. Many computers have problems that a technician must review to see if they are of software or hardware nature. In some embodiments, obvious or blatant hardware issues relate to physical devices which are not working such as power supplies, computer screens, and disk drives. Connectivity issues are those problems which prohibit a computer from being connected to a network, such as the Internet. In some of these cases a phone directed call may result in the computer connection being restored.

In other embodiments, the store associate 305 collects (step 325) and provides information to make sure that the to be assigned remote technician 115 is provided with information on what work needs to be done or the nature of the problem. The store associate 305 may enter this information via a web form of the Internet Interface 116 or Internet Switch. In one embodiment, the web form may provide a text field to describe the work or the selection of work type. In another embodiment, the web form text or selections is used to automatically communicate to the technician 115 what work needs to be done. In still another embodiment, the web form may include fields or selections to identify the device. In yet another embodiment, the device identifying information is used assure that any work on a machine is tracked, for example, completely from end to end of the process. Otherwise a technician may perform incorrect work on a computer or device and not be able to track which service was performed on what device.

The following depicts an example of an embodiment of steps of a method performed by a remote technician or agent in using the techniques described herein:

In one embodiment, the remote agent or technician 115 uses any combination of the desktop connectivity software, Intelligent switch software and/or CRM software to deliver and perform services on a device 101 at the consumer outlet 103. For example, the remote technician 115 may use the remote technical support services of PlumChoice Online PC Services of Billerica, Mass. to deliver services. The remote technician 115 may use any type and form of desktop connectivity software, such as those provided or manufactured by Citrix, e.g., GoToAssist, WebEx, LogMeIn or Microsoft. In one embodiment, the remote technician uses software and solutions by Telvisio of Foster City, Calif. In some embodiments, remote desktop connectivity software provides the agent with the ability to see the desktop of the device 101 and control the device 101 remotely as if the technician 115 were sitting in front of the device 101.

The Intelligent Switch 106 provides the connection of work 201 to a specific pool or queue 108 of resource and the assignment and dispatching of the work 201 to a specific available technician 115 to perform the work. The Intelligent Switch 106 is designed and constructed to accept input from the store associate 305 or customer from which to determine the work required and perform the intelligent switching. In some embodiments, the Intelligent Switch 106 may use any customer call center software and solutions manufactured by Aspect Software, Inc. of Irvine, Calif. A CRM software system may be used to track the work that is performed so that both the personnel at the consumer outlet and the technical agent can track the work and status of the work performed on a specific device 101. One embodiment of the remote technical support system uses a web based custom application to track the status of services although any type of tracking or software service may be used.

In one embodiment, when work is completed, the computer or device 101 at the consumer outlet is disconnected from the remote technician 115. For example, the remote technician 115 may log off the device 101 or terminate the remote desktop sharing connection to the device 101. In another embodiment, the device 101 may be disconnected from the Internet Interface 116 and/or Internet Switch. The status of the work may be passed back to the store associate 305 via a message left on the device 101 itself and/or via the ticketing system, such as a CRM, which tracks the work. In some cases, the remote technician 115 may communicate directly via phone, email or chat/Instant messaging with the store associate 305 or customer. In some embodiments, the ticketing system information may be used to charge the customer for work done.

In-Home Services

The systems and methods of the centralized remote technical support services described above may also be deployed for in-home services. In these embodiments, the solution uses remote services technology to deliver the most appropriate trained technical resource to resolve the customer needs at the customer's home or location. The innovative application of the centralized technology discussed herein with innovative modification to skills and processes for in-home service improves and optimizes the amount of cost required to deliver services to the home. Without the use of the technology and processes described herein, a broadly skilled technician visits the consumer's home or location for an indeterminate period of time and for additional appointments to be scheduled when the work exceeds either the time or the skill of the technician.

By using the systems and methods described herein, the skills of the technician visiting the home may be redefined or re-scoped to be associated with connecting devices and enabling connection of the computers to a network or the Internet. The amount of time to perform these tasks is more deterministic and requires a much more focused set of skills. For example, an onsite service home service technician may be dispatched for ½ hour, hour or other predetermined time increments to perform a preliminary diagnostics and to setup up the service work to the Internet Switch, much like the store associate in the consumer outlet scenarios described above. Once the interconnection of the consumer device is complete and the device is hooked up to the Internet Switch, remote resources from the centralized service may be connected to complete all the necessary installations, configurations, training and repairs. As such, in these embodiments, appropriate skilled resources are applied without the need to send additional technicians to the consumer's location.

A typical example scenario for a home service is that a consumer may call for help because his or her computer is slow, lost connectivity to the Internet, experiencing lots of pop-ups and or perhaps would like to install some new devices. A technician may be assigned a time-frame of 1-3 hours reserved to perform the work. When the technician arrives on site he or she may diagnose the problem, and may start with a set of tools to fix the problem and then proceed to hook the computer up to the Internet, or verify connectivity to the Internet. Once done the technician may start to install new devices and software onto the computer. Without the use of the centralized remote technical services described herein, much of the time spent on site is watching the tools fix the problems as they can take a long time to scan and automatically fix problems. In some cases, the technical may run out of time or that there will be aspects of the work that will require another visit by a technician with a different set of skills. With the user of the centralized remote technical services described herein, a predetermined amount of time may be set for the technician for an onsite visit, such as a 1 hours appointment. In that time-period the technician may perform a diagnostics and connect and configure the device to be connected to the Internet Switch and pool of remote technical resources. The onsite technician may go to another place to do the same work—another home visit for a predetermined amount of time, after leaving the computer connected to the centralized remote technical support service. At that point, the computer may be assigned from a queue to a remote technician to perform the desired service based on the onsite technician's diagnostics, description of the problem or information submitted to the Internet Switch. The remote technician for example may clean and update the software and configuration of the computer and install any new devices. In addition, the remote technician may deliver training to the consumer at his home, such as live one on one training. If the remote technician performing the service is not the best or appropriate resource to perform the service, the connection to the consumer's computer may be transferred electronically and real-time to the next appropriate technician with out the need to reschedule a home visit.

In view of the structure, functions and apparatus of the systems and methods described here, the present solution provides a dynamic, efficient and intelligent system for providing remote technical support to devices via a centralized service. Having described certain embodiments of methods and systems for providing remote technical support, it will now become apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concepts of the invention may be used. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to certain embodiments, but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims: 

1. A method for providing on-demand technical support services, the method comprising: (a) receiving, via a network by a centralized service operating on one or more servers remote to a location of a consumer, a request for work to be performed on a device at the location of the consumer; (b) determining, by the centralized service, a type of work for the request and one or more service level attributes to perform the type of work at a predetermined service threshold; and (c) assigning, by the centralized service prior to performing the type of work, the request to a work queue of a technician of a pool of technicians based on the one or more service level attributes corresponding to one or more capabilities identified for the technician, the pool of technicians remote to the location of the consumer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises connecting at a consumer outlet the device received from the consumer to the network.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises determining, by the centralized service, from the request a category of the device and wherein step (c) further comprises assigning the request to the work based on the category of the device.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, (d) receiving, by a second device of the technician from the centralized service, a communication to perform work on the device; and (e) connecting, by the technician in response to the communication, from a remote location via one or more networks to the device at the location of the consumer.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising matching, by an intelligent switch of the centralized service, the one or more service level attributes of the request with the one or more capabilities of the pool of technicians to determine the technician suited to service the request at a service level identified by the predetermined service threshold.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises determining, by the centralized service, via a technician database the one or more capabilities of technicians currently available from the pool of technicians.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising matching, by an intelligent switch of the centralized service responsive to a set of rules of a policy engine, the one or more service level attributes to one or more capabilities identified for the technician.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying, by the centralized service one or more sub-attributes of each of the one or more service level attributes and assigning the request to the work queue based on the one or more sub-attributes.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the centralized service, the one or more service level attributes in content of the request.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning, by the centralized service, weights to the one or more service level attributes or the one or more capabilities.
 11. A method for providing a combination of onsite and on-demand technical support services to a location of a consumer, the method comprising (a) assigning, by a centralized service, an onsite technician with a first set of skills a predetermined amount of time to visit a location of a consumer requesting service on a device; (b) performing, by the onsite technician within the predetermined amount of time, a portion of the requested service on the device at the location of the consumer; (c) connecting, by the onsite technician within the predetermined amount of time, the device at the location of the consumer via a network to the centralized service; (d) submitting, by the onsite technician, to the centralized service information about the device based on performing the portion of the requested service; and (e) assigning, by the centralized service, the device to a work queue of a remote technician having a second set of skills of a plurality of remote technicians based on the information submitted by the onsite technician.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (a) further comprises assigning to the onsite technician the predetermined amount of time comprising predetermined time increments.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein step (a) further comprises assigning the onsite technician having the first set of skills limited to one preliminary diagnostics or network connectivity to the centralized service.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) further comprises performing, by the onsite technician, preliminary diagnostics on the device.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) further comprises establishing, by the onsite technician, connectivity of the device to the Internet.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing by the remote technician a second portion of the requested service.
 17. The method of claim 11, further comprising completing by the remote technician the requested service to the device without being sent to the location of the consumer.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising transferring, by the centralized service, the device to a second work queue of a second remote technician to perform a remaining portion of the requested service on the device.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein step (e) further comprises assigning, by the centralized service prior to performing the type of work, the request to the work queue of the remote technician based on one or more service level attributes of the request corresponding to one or more capabilities identified for the remote technician.
 20. The method of claim 11, wherein step (e) further comprises assigning, by the centralized service prior to performing the type of work, the request to the work queue of the remote technician based on the onsite technician's diagnostics performed on the device at the location of the consumer. 